iGATE Global lines up $3mn investment

To up Hyderabad headcount to 750

iGATE Global Solutions Limited, an integrated technology and operations company (iTOPS) with a global services model, is looking at investing around $3 million in Hyderabad in the next 18-24 months. During the same period, the company will be doubling its headcount to over 750 in Hyderabad.

Addressing the media, Phaneesh Murthy, chief executive officer of iGATE Global Solutions, said, "At present, we have around 375 IT professionals working for us in Hyderabad. We intend to double the headcount to over 750 in the next 18-24 months."

The company is looking at another 25,000 sq ft of space for expansion, and is currently in negotiations to acquire land. With this expansion, iGATE's operations in Hyderabad will be extended to around 1,00,000 sq ft.

"Our investment in terms of interiors and technology will amount to around $3 million in the next 18-24 months," Murthy said. iGATE has a global employee strength of 4,000 people, with 70 per cent of them working in the offshore facilities in India.

"Global 2000 companies currently offshore about seven per cent of their annual IT budgets. In the coming years, the offshore budgets are likely to go up to between 15 per cent and 20 per cent," Murthy said. The company also plans to set up a campus in Hyderabad in the future.

With regard to Quintant Services Limited, Murthy said that the amalgamation is set to take place by January next year. "There will be swapping of shares, with which the shareholding of iGATE Corporation will go up to around 86 per cent in iGATE Global Solutions, from 82 per cent at present," Murthy said.

The company had earlier announced that their creditors and members have approved the scheme of amalgamation between Quintant Services Ltd and iGATE. They will now be filing the petition for sanctioning the scheme of amalgamation with the High Court of Karnataka.

iGATE Global Solutions has an attrition rate of around 20 per cent. A significant portion of this is because of false credentials, Murthy said.

According to Satish Chandrasekaran, vice-president (IT delivery and head), Hyderabad delivery centre, the company spends around Rs 1,000 per person on background checks as fake degrees are easy to get in the city. "Sometimes, we even have to spend $300-$400 per person on such checks,"Murthy said.